Just the Facts: Anderson by the numbers

Just the Facts: Anderson by the numbersEdmonton Oilers fans should mark Sunday, January 18, 2009 on their calendars. On that date, the Oilers will honour Glenn Anderson by retiring his #9 in a special on-ice ceremony prior to the 6:00 p.m. game versus the Phoenix Coyotes at Rexall Place.

This Sunday, January 18, the Oilers will honour Glenn Anderson by retiring his #9 in a special on-ice ceremony prior to the 7:00 p.m. game versus the Phoenix Coyotes at Rexall Place.

Rexall and the Oilers will once again present a celebration weekend featuring tribute events to commemorate the retirement of Anderson’s jersey.

Anderson will become the seventh Oiler to have his jersey retired by the team, joining Al Hamilton, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey and Mark Messier with their numbers raised to the rafters of Rexall Place.

Anderson, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 10th, was one of the great offensive stars in NHL history, scoring 1,099 points in 1,129 regular season games during a 16 season career. Beginning his NHL career with the Oilers in 1980-81, Anderson scored 498 goals and 601 assists with 1,120 penalty minutes before retiring following the 1995-96 season. He scored 50-or-more goals twice during his career, netting 54 goals as an Oiler in both 1983-84 and 1985-86, and had three seasons with 100-or-more points.

“Putting Glenn’s number up with the other honoured players at Rexall Place is absolutely deserving and it’s the right thing for our organization to do.” commented Oilers President of Hockey Operations, Kevin Lowe. “Glenn could bring fans out of their seats with his unbelievable goals and they always seemed to be such timely goals, especially in the playoffs. Being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is what should happen to a player of his stature and having #9 up with the others is also the perfect tribute to one of the greatest Oilers.”

In 12 seasons with the Oilers (1980-81 to 1990-91 & 1995-96), “Andy” scored 417-489-906 with 798 penalty minutes in 845 career games to rank fourth all-time on the Edmonton scoring list. His name can be found among the Oilers career leaders in games (3rd), goals (3rd), assists (4th), hat tricks (2nd with 20), powerplay goals (1st with 126), game winning goals (1st with 73) and multiple point games (4th with 240).

As spectacular as he was in the regular season, Anderson was brilliant in the post-season. The winner of six Stanley Cups, including five as an Oiler, Anderson ranks as the fourth leading scorer in Stanley Cup Playoff history with 93-121-214 in 225 games. He is ranked among the NHL’s all-time post-season career leaders in goals (5th), assists (7th), overtime goals (3rd with five) and game winning goals (6th with 17).

A member of the 1980 Canadian Olympic Team, Anderson also represented Canada at the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cups and the 1989 and 1992 IIHF World Championships.